Hexagonal or Pillow

[GreenBBQ]

Im keen to understand what peoples preferences are when using Briquettes. I've heard the Komodo Kamada are very popular, come in 30cm Hexagonals but are then , it seems from the feedback, broken up into smaller chunks when used. This is presumably to increase the surface area. On the other hand I've also heard Kingsford pillow briquettes are also popular from a performance perspective.
Where we sell the ehxagonals are very polar in restaurants in the Middle east and mediterranean countries whilst the Europeans tend to be keener on the pillows, mostly hooked on Weber Premium though they are losing their touch , partly on cost partly on performance. the latter could be caused by a vendor change but Im not sure.
Its my intention to launch our Coconut products in the US in both hexagonal and pillow but any thoughts offered would be greatly appreciated.

[tbob4]

Since I typically use the Kingsford pillow briquettes, I will focus on the hexagonal questions. I have personally never known anyone who has used the large hexagonal briquettes. I just looked them up online and my initial questions would be 1) How well do they heat/fit in the traditional chimney starters most of us use? 2) How well would they fit in an array of cookers? 3) Is there a difference in the ash profile between the two sizes? 4) Does their size enhance or inhibit the ability to add coals to a pre-existing fire? These questions have nothing to do with the fuel itself - just the size based upon what I saw online. There is likely a benefit to selling the hexagonal briquettes in their larger size but you would have to do so by educating people to the shape benefit. Is that benefit compromised by breaking it down into smaller hexagons? If efficient, I could see myself experimenting with the large hexagonal size as a starter in my wood burner. One of the problems I sometimes have is that the smaller briquettes sometimes fall through the grate. If the size equated with a longer, more consistent burn, I could also see myself using them as a compliment to my wood for temp control rather than just as a starter. Hopefully that helps with some of the questions you would encounter from me.

[Histrix]

I tried some of the extruded coconut charcoal a few years ago (I think I still have a couple boxes in the garage). It was fine but I didn't see that it was any better than the usual Kingsford briquettes which were much cheaper. Only downside to the Kingsford is the amount of ash but that's not that big a deal.

If the price is closer to a bag of Kingsford I think more folks might be interested.

[GreenBBQ]

Thanks for your inputs:
tbob4 I think the points you raised 1 & 2 is why the larger version is broken down into more useable pieces, the popularity on the site I read may well be to do with the material ( coconut shell ) used rather than the shape. I would think adding a larger Hexag to an existing fire may actually cause a drop in thermal heat radiance for a short while, rather like a cloud crossing the sun. Again maybe why they are broken up. One advantage we have found is the hole through the middle does aid heat transfer laterally through the grill but it would need to be a large grill perhaps explaining the popularity in restaurants. Prepared correctly , ash need not be higher for shell hexagonals whether used whole or broken.

Histrix I would think if you did not notice a difference between Coconut shell (shell or hexag) and Kingsfords normal briketts then the likelihood is that it was not all coconut shell, quite a few Asians mix an array of fillers. Coconut shell should deliver a light brown ash if it doesn't thats a tell tale sign. As for ash content that to my mind is a function of what goes in the product in the first place. I was asked on here last night the ash content of our briketts , 3,72% was how they tested for certification in Europe. Thats for our Coconut shell/Palm leaf stem mix. Im not sure what Kingsford quote.

Pricing of shell only briketts should always be above non shell simply due to the cost of the feedstocks...Coconut shell is sought after in the Activated Carbon market and also the Hookah briketts market. But If I look at the prices quoted on KK's site for the coconut shell hexagonals I'd say that was toppy.
What does 20lb of Kingsfords finest cost ? We rarely see it here.

[tbob4]

If you would like to send me a sample of the large and small hex as well as the pillow I would be more than happy to try them out and give you my opinion.

[tbob4]

It's just a little under a dollar a pound. During the summer at wholesale outlets (Costco where I live) they go on sale. It's interesting that you said that the ash is brown. There are a lot of topics here about the color of smoke and what it is indicative of. Since you brought up the topic of the charcoal the other day I have been reading about it. Reports are that it is relatively odorless compared to other charcoals. Some report that to be favorable and others review it as detrimental. They claim it does not provide the traditional taste associated with the charcoal to which they are accustomed. That would not matter to me because I use the charcoal to start/supplement wood. A lot of people use wood chips in their charcoal burners. Although coconut is reputed to burn clean, what color smoke emanates from the charcoal, both in the beginning and through the burn?

[lschweig]

Most all of us in the US are used to using either the KB pillow briquettes or lump charcoal and the offshoots from them. Thus on first appearance it would seem that you should go in that direction, but then you become just another new comer and so why switch? This has worked for me before, so why switch.

However with that said you may be able to capitalize on having a uniquely shaped product and expand upon the advantages of that to market it differently.

Currently at The Home Depot (a nationwide big box store here) 2-18# bags of KB blue bag retails for $18.95 USD + tax. With that said during our holidays spring- fall they always go on sale for basically half price. I think I currently have 12 or more bags in the garage currently to take me into the spring when another sale will hit.

[JeffJ]

I'm down to 5 bags but I can swipe a bag from the in-laws (I purchased it in the first place :-)